The Team

Patrick Starkman

Partner - Head of the Brussels' Office

In charge of European and external relations at the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) until January 2016, Patrick joined the European regulator in 2012 to build its strategy and political relationships on a European and international level. His duties involved defending the interests and positions of ESMA with European institutions and international organizations and forums. For 4 years, he advised the President of ESMA in the scope of informal meetings of the European Finance Ministers (ECOFIN) and of high-level political meetings with the European Parliament and the European Commission.

In charge of external relations at ESMA, Patrick organized and facilitated dialogue between the European authority and the competent authorities of Brazil, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Russia, Switzerland, and the United States on cooperation in the field of the regulation and supervision of financial markets. Patrick also attended meetings of the Presidents’ Committee and of the Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), and became a member of its European Regional Committee, as well as IOSCO’s Task Force on Cross-Border Regulation.

Patrick began his career in the private sector, working until 2003 for the European Savings and Retail Banking Group (ESBG) and for the World Savings and Retail Banking Institute (WSBI) in Brussels. He went on to work for the French financial markets regulator (AMF) in Paris, where he represented the AMF’s interests with European institutions. His duties there also included developing and coordinating regulatory strategies with the French Finance and Economy Ministry as well as with the French financial industry. At the time, he was a member of the European committee of Paris-Europlace.

From 2005 to 2007, he was seconded to the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) of the European Parliament. As a national expert, he contributed to the drafting of all parliamentary reports, and to all initiatives involving financial markets legislation (MiFID, UCITS, Prospectus, transparency of investment firms, etc.). Patrick also contributed to the work of the Inter-Institutional Monitoring Group (comprising the EU Parliament, Council and the Commission) on the assessment of legislative measures (Lamfalussy) at a European level.

In 2006, Patrick was elected Vice-President of the Liaison Committee of the Detached National Experts (CLENAD), which represents more than a 1000 European national experts, seconded by EU Member States to EU institutions.

Patrick, admitted by the Paris Bar, earned a degree in business law and international economic law from the Faculty of Law of Paris I – Panthéon Sorbonne University.